Personalized learning reliability of tell me morea dynamic approach

Abstract

This study investigated the personalized learning reliability of Tell Me More (TMM) (i.e. the extent to which two hypothetical identical learners receive the same level of instructional and learning support while using a courseware) within the dynamic framework of Tetzlaff, Schmiedek, and Brod (2020), in which personalized learning is considered to be the most reliable and effective when learners’ characteristics are dynamically assessed during the learning procedure and the instructions are provided to them accordingly. The lessons, workshops, and activities of TMM’s Dynamic mode were qualitatively analyzed and the results revealed that in order for TMM to provide a reliable personalized learning, it should be equipped with a placement test at the beginning of the course and a constant dynamic assessment technology throughout the learning process. Relying on adaptive activities chosen unsystematically by the learners themselves is not reliable in that most learners are neither capable of professionally estimating their own level of language proficiency nor are they trained to determine the required level of task difficulty for their activities. The results have implications for courseware designers to consider placement tests and dynamic assessment technology in their future designs to maximize the reliability of their personalized learning programs.